Palestinian teen detained after stab attempt at Qalandiya checkpoint

A Palestinian woman looks at a member of the Israeli forces standing guard at the Qalandiya checkpoint on July 3, 2015. (AFP/Abbas Momani, File)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Wednesday detained a Palestinian teenager at the Qalandiya military checkpoint south of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank following an attempted stabbing, Israeli police said.

Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that Israeli forces requested that the youth exit a bus for inspection after they noticed he was not carrying identification and was acting in a "suspicious" manner.

The Palestinian refused to be searched and pulled a knife from his pocket before an Israeli officer "took control over the youth while the knife dropped to the floor," al-Samri said, adding that no injuries were reported.

The Palestinian, believed to be a 17-year-old from the Nablus area, was transferred for interrogation in Israeli custody.

The Qalandiya checkpoint is one of a number of military checkpoints that have been the site of attempted and actual attacks on Israeli military personnel since a wave of individual attacks sparked in October.

The checkpoint is one of the main entry and exit point for Palestinians crossing from the occupied West Bank to Jerusalem, and Palestinians with permits often undergo searches when crossing.

Tensions between Israeli military forces and residents of Qalandiya refugee camp, which lies adjacent to the checkpoint, have been heightened in recent months, with at least nine residents of the camp killed since October.